Second Chances
by gillyandersons
Summary: No prison, no abandonment, no adoption. What if Emma and Neal finally find their happily ever after in Tallahassee?
1. Chapter 1

Neal rolled over uncomfortably, ignoring the ache in his neck and back as his eyes fluttered open and landed upon a still sleeping Emma in the back seat of the bug.

She might only be 18, but she was wise and mature well beyond her years. She'd done more living and gone through more pain and crap than most people twice her age and she always came out kicking and stronger for it.

And yet, despite this, she still looked sweet and innocent as she slept. Her long blonde curls covered half her face, and still, to Neal, she was the most beautiful thing he had ever had the privilege of laying eyes on. She always would be.

The sunlight streamed through the windows of the bright yellow bug, the rays illuminating Emma as she slept. Making her look even more heavenly and angelic than she did on any average day.

Emma stirred slightly in her sleep, but didn't wake. Instead, she hugged her bag, which she was currently using as a pillow, closer to her. Neal couldn't help but smile.

Everything was finally falling together.

He glanced at his watch, noting that they'd slept almost an hour longer than they usually did.

Probably because they no longer had to worry. Their plan had worked, and in less than two hours, they would be 20 thousand dollars richer.

There was movement out of the corner of Neal's eye, and he painfully took his eyes away from his sleeping girlfriend and turned in the direction of the movement, missing the sight of Emma instantly.

He smiled and waved at the guy who was stood outside the back door of the swimming centre, tapping his watch.

They'd been sneaking in there to shower for weeks before they got caught. Thankfully though, the caretaker took pity on them and instead of turning them into his boss, he gave them 10 minutes a morning to shower whilst he had a cigarette.

"Em, Em wake up" Neal shook Emma gently.

Once again, Emma stirred but didn't wake. Neal would have just left her all day if she didn't have to go and collect the reward money in 2 hours.

"Em, sweetie" Neal shook her a little harder.

"... Five more minutes" Emma mumbled sleepily, rolling over in her sleep and away from the thing that was tearing her from it.

"Em, its already gone 8" Neal sighed.

Emma stayed stationary for a few moments before she shot up, banging her head on the roof as she did.

"Ow!" She pouted, rubbing the throbbing spot on the back of her head. "I was out like a light" Emma yawned, collecting her belongings as Neal made to get up and hold her door open for her.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Neal waited in the bug a few blocks away as Emma waited in a cafe to collect the reward money.

He tapped the steering wheel nervously. He didn't like Emma to be on her own. Sure, he knew that she could look after herself, but he didn't want her to ever have to.

He vowed that for as long as he was alive and breathing, Emma Swan would never spend another moment alone. He loved her more than anything. She'd changed him and his life for the better. She was his constant, the one thing that kept him grounded. She was his Northern Star, giving him light and direction on the deepest and darkest of times, always guiding him home safely.

It didn't matter where he was, or what circumstances he found himself in, as long as he was with Emma, he would be happy. They could be millionaires or spend the rest of their days living in the bug, and he would be happy, as long as he got to wake up next to Emma everyday. Emma Swan was his home and his happiness.

Once they had the money, he was going to legalise the bug, and then they'd head to Tallahasee and start their lives over. They'd get a little house together and they'd both get jobs and start their happily ever after.

Neal sipped the rapidly cooling coffee they'd bought with the last of their small change, his eyes scanning the crowded streets frantically. Emma had been gone almost an hour now, and Neal was starting to seriously worry.

A wave of relief washed over him when he saw a flash of blonde. Emma beamed widely and waved before she climbed into the passenger seat.

"We did it!" She exclaimed, fishing out a thick envelope full of cash from her bag.

"No, _you_ did it!" Neal smiled back, proudly before placing a quick, yet loving kiss on Emma's soft lips. "I'm _so _incredibly proud of you, babe! I knew you'd do it!"

"I was so nervous" Emma sighed and Neal cupped her cheek with his hand, his thumb ghosting over her cheek. "I was sat there for almost 45 minutes before the guy showed! I drank three cups of coffee. The waitress almost had a heart attack when I paid with a $100 bill and told her to 'keep the change'"

It was only then that Neal noticed Emma's hands were trembling. Although, he didn't know if it was down to the three coffees, nerves or excitement. Probably a mixture of all three.

"I love you so much, you know that, right?" Neal laughed, a smile spreading across his countenance.

"I know" Emma smiled cheekily, biting her lip as she tried to stifle her giggles. "I love you too" Emma said seriously, leaning into Neal's touch before taking his hand away from her cheek, kissing his knuckles and interlocking his fingers with her own. "Now c'mon, let's go start our happily ever after"

_**This was just a little something I had an idea for, i've already wrote a few more chapters and if people like it then I will upload them! Please let me know what you thought, thanks. **_

_**Gina xxx**_


	2. Chapter 2

Neal had been asleep for the last five hours, his head resting against the passenger side window and his arms crossed over his chest.

Emma smiled at how adorable he looked in that moment.

It was getting late now and they'd been on the road for almost two days straight. Taking it in turns to drive across the country in their now legalised Bug.

Excitement bubbled up in Emma's stomach as she passed the 'Welcome to Tallahassee' sign.

She didn't know if she should wake Neal or not to tell him that they had finally made it, but he'd drove most of the day and she didn't have the heart to disturb him.

She would pull into the next motel/B&B she saw and wake him there.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Emma exited the bathroom and sprinted across the room before diving into the bed. Neal held his arms out and revelled as Emma gladly accepted and snuggled into his chest.

"Your feet are freezing!" Neal jumped as Emma's ice blocks touched his bare calfs.

"Sorry" Emma pouted, shivering slightly.

The water in the shower was stone cold and the bedding was ridiculously thin. To make matters worse, all they were sleeping in was either boxers, in Neal's case, or your boyfriends t-shirt (which was like a dress on you) in Emma's case.

Buying proper pyjama's hadn't occurred to either of them, even after spending almost 5 nights in Canada.

"Don't be sorry" Neal pulled Emma closer to him, kissing her on the temple as she rested her head on his chest. "It just means we have to snuggle in tighter" he grinned cheekily causing Emma to giggle into his bare chest.

x-x-x-x-x-x

Neal awoke the next morning to find the bed cold and empty and the sound of retching coming from the bathroom.

"Emma?" He asked in a sleep induced haze, patting the empty space his girlfriend was supposed to be vacating.

The sound of retching got louder and Neal was up out of bed and in the bathroom, holding Emma's hair back and rubbing her back soothingly, like a bat out of hell.

"Em?" Neal asked softly, his heart breaking slightly as he watched the woman he loved vomit violently on the dingy motel floor. "Em, are you okay?"

"Do I look okay?!" Emma snapped, her voice dry and her throat hoarse.

She didn't mean to snap at Neal and she immediately felt guilty. He was only asking if she was okay.

"Sorry" Emma groaned.

"Its okay" Neal smiled, passing Emma a glass of water as she sat up straight, wiping her mouth and flushing the toilet. "But seriously, are you okay?"

"Yeah" Emma said, gulping down the water, thankful to wash down the acidic taste on her tongue. "I think its those hot dogs we got last night" Emma groaned again, clutching her stomach and leaning into Neal's embrace.

"Are you sure?" Neal asked, his fingers tracing imaginary patterns up and down the top of Emma's arm.

"Yeah. I knew they were dodgy but I was just so tired and hungry at the time, I didn't care. I already feel better. I promise" Emma smiled, trying to convince both Neal and herself.

She didn't feel better, the nausea had lessened, but only slightly. She still felt ill and overwhelmingly tired, but she didn't let it show. She didn't want Neal to worry, or to think she was having second thoughts. Because she wasn't.

She just figured that everything was overwhelming her and taking its toll: not having a proper meal, sitting in a car all day every day, the excitement of starting over.

"We don't have to do anything today, if you're not up to it" Neal spoke, pulling Emma from her thoughts. "We can stay here till you're better"

"What? No. The sooner we find an apartment and a job, the sooner we can settle down" Emma looked up into Neal's eyes seriously. "And besides, going outside and keeping busy will do me good. The both of us good. I already found some jobs" Emma said, standing up, ignoring the urge to throw up again, walking back into the bedroom, grabbing yesterday's news paper off the table before making her way back to Neal. "See" she said, thrusting the paper into Neal's hands as she took up her spot on the cold tile floor next to him.

Neal flipped open the paper and looked down at the red circles on the pages. 'Fry cook wanted', 'Painter/decorator needed', 'Waitress wanted'... The list seemed to be endless.

"I also circled some apartments that are available" Emma turned the page and pointed to yet more red circles. "They're pretty crappy, but we don't want to blow the money and end up with a house we can't afford in a few years" Emma shrugged as Neal nodded, listening, and agreeing, to what she was saying.

She was right. He hadn't really thought about it. Not in the way Emma had. She had a proper plan. A smart, sensible one. Just because they had the money, didn't mean they should just go and blow it. They had to make it last.

And besides, they were used to sleeping in dingy places. At least this time they'd be able to make it their own. Turn it into something more. Into a house. A home. Their home.

"You really thought this through, didn't you?" Neal grinned, looking over at Emma who was doing her best to look more perky than peaky.

"Well... Yeah. I mean, this is our_ life_. Neither of us have ever had a proper home, or stability and this is our chance to finally have it. I don't want to mess it all up by jumping in head first without a thought or care in the world. I love you, and it doesn't really matter where we are or what we're doing, I'll be happy as long as I'm with you but we both deserve this. This is our chance to show everybody who said we couldn't do it and prove them wrong" Emma smiled slightly, looking down at her bare knees.

Neal didn't know what to say. He loved Emma so much. He honestly didn't know what he had done to deserve her. She was so much better than him and could probably do a lot better than him, but he didn't waste his time questioning how he had gotten so lucky. Instead, he just savoured every moment he spent with Emma Swan.

He grinned brightly, leaning over and pressing his lips to hers.

"Ew, Neal!" Emma squirmed, pulling away. "I'm all pukey!"

"So?"

"So it's gross!"

"I don't mind"

"Yeah, well, _I_ do!" Emma raised her eyebrow causing Neal to pout. "Besides, we've got to get ready. Those jobs and apartments won't be there forever"

x-x-x-x-x-x

They had decided to try and get an apartment first, so that they had an address and stability when it came to applying for jobs. They walked around the apartments hand in hand, listening intently to the estate agent.

They had gone through four heinous apartments before they saw one they actually liked. It was only small, but it was big enough for the two of them, and, with a lick or two of paint, it could be turned into a home.

Neal couldn't help but let his mind wander as he and Emma walked through the apartment. He couldn't help but picture them making dinner together in the kitchen and him running Emma a nice, warm bath after a long day at work. He smiled as the image of Emma and himself sitting on the imaginary sofa, cuddling as they watched the imaginary TV. Carrying Emma to their bedroom after she'd fallen asleep.

The domesticity that he imagined between Emma and himself seemed perfect.

And judging by the smile on Emma's lips, the glisten in her beautiful eyes and the faraway look on her face, Neal could tell that she felt the same way too.

He squeezed her hand in his own, getting her attention. She turned to him, her smile growing as she saw his own face mirrored hers. That he too had been imagining their future in this apartment.

No words were needed. It was one of the times where they were communicating with just one look, knowing exactly what the other was saying.

Emma's eyes twinkled in excitement as she read her boyfriends face.

They both knew it. This was their home. This two bedroomed apartment would be the place where they started the rest of their lives.

"We'll take it!" they both smiled excitedly, causing their estate agent to turn around.


	3. Chapter 3

_**This chapter is really short, sorry. I hope you like it anyway, please let me know what you think:)**_

It had taken Emma being rushed to hospital after passing out at work for the young couple to find out they were going to be parents.

They had both remained stoic, stunned speechless, since they had found out the results of Emma's blood test.

It was Emma who regained control of her body and was the first to speak.

"Is this a good thing?" She asked shakily, not knowing herself if this was good or bad, let alone Neal's thoughts on the whole situation.

Neal blinked several times, opening his moth to speak but finding nothing came out. He was glad he was sitting in the chair next to Emma's hospital bed when the doctor told them, because he was sure that his legs would have buckled if he was standing.

His eyes searched Emma's face for any trace of emotion. She looked like a mixture of stunned, scared and confused all into one. But there was a tiny glimmer in her eye that Neal did not miss: joy.

Was this really such a bad thing? They were young but did that really matter?

"Neal?" Emma pressed after a few moments, spanning Neal out of his train of thoughts.

"Honestly?" Neal asked and Emma nodded. "Em, this is amazing!"

"It is?" Emma asked.

"Of course it is, Em!" Neal beamed ecstatic. "We're having a baby. A little bit you of you and me! This is- Emma, this is the best news ever!"

"You're-you're not mad?" Emma asked, completely dumbfounded by her boyfriends response.

"Are you kidding me? Emma, I'm so happy! We're gonna be parents! This is... Em, this is beyond my wildest dreams. I've got you, we've got a house and jobs and a fresh start... And now we're having a baby too!" Neal's eyes were glistening with unshead tears as he spoke. "After everything we both went through in the past... God, Em. Everything is just falling into place so perfectly!"

Neal laughed as he cupped Emma's damn, tear stained cheek and kissed her.

"So we're really doing this then?" Emma asked, pulling away from Neal's salty lips. "We're really gonna have this baby? Going to be a proper family?"

"Only if you want to, babe" Neal smiled, his thumb ghosting across Emma's cheek bone.

A genuine, pure smile spread across Emma's face as she looked into Neal's eyes. She was terrified at the thought of being a mother, especially at 18. But the way Neal looked at her, with such love and hope in his eyes, the nerves and uncertainty she was feeling quelled.

She was really going to do this. She was really going to have Neal Cassidy's baby and live happily ever after with him.

"We're having a baby" Emma smiled happily before Neal crashed his lips to hers once again, both of them smiling into the kiss.


End file.
